Lewis declined to disclose the Mirai’s marketing budget, but Santucci said Toyota is hoping to increase recognition through outreach with think tanks, thought leaders and politicians. The model is also making the rounds at auto shows, including the New York International Auto Show, which runs Friday to April 8.

So far, Toyota has sold about 5,300 units of the Mirai in Japan, North America and Europe, according to Santucci, with more than 3,000 of those units sold in California. Other automakers offer a fuel cell model, but Toyota accounted for over 77 percent of global sales of such cars in 2017, according to a March report by Information Trends, a market research firm in Washington.

The goal for Toyota is to produce 30,000 fuel cell vehicles globally beginning in 2020, Santucci said.

In California, alternative-fuel vehicles have a champion in Gov. Jerry Brown, who in January announced a $2.5 billion initiative that includes increasing hydrogen fueling stations to 200 by 2025. The stations, financed by the state government, Toyota, Honda and other automakers, cost $1 million to $3 million each, according to Santucci. The state also has incentives for fuel cell car buyers, including a $5,000 rebate.

Outside of California, the National Conference of State Legislatures is “not seeing a ton of action” on fuel cell vehicle incentives compared to those for electric vehicles, said Kristy Hartman, NCSL energy program manager. But she said the Mirai is more likely to find a market in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, which, along with California, in 2013 committed to having at least 3.3 million zero-emission vehicles on their roadways by 2025.

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